Saltimbocca alla romana is a traditional recipe of the roman cuisine, an appetizing and quick meal made of thin slices of veal, prosciutto and sage. These are the basic ingredients of the original saltimbocca alla romana. Classic saltimbocca alla romana are usually made with slices of floured veal – the best cuts are the top round inside or flat – cooked in a pan with butter, a little bit of oil and white wine to reduce.
I’ve always prepared the original saltimbocca alla romana as if they are a kind of scallops, putting the prosciutto over the meat and adding a sage leaf secured with a toothpick. Some people prefer to make a kind of roll, rolling up the meat on itself after stuffing it with ham and sage; this process – although it is different from the traditional recipe – has the advantage of preserving the ham softer, because it does not come in contact with the warm pan. However, there is a way to overcome this problem while maintaining tradition: you can cook the saltimbocca alla romana mainly on the meat side, sprinkling them with the cooking sauce from time to time.
in Italy the classic saltimbocca alla romana are prepared with “prosciutto crudo”, a very popular ingredient and not as expensive as in other countries. If you can’t find it easily, you can prepare saltimbocca with ham.
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Ingredients for the original saltimbocca alla romana
If you are gluten intolerant, you can flour classic saltimbocca alla romana with rice flour.
- Power 528,49 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 2,87 (g) of which sugars 0,19 (g)
- Proteins 38,95 (g)
- Fat 38,73 (g) of which saturated 15,04 (g)of which unsaturated 16,71 (g)
- Fibers 0,17 (g)
- Sodium 707,75 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 160 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
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Classic recipe for the original saltimbocca alla romana
To prepare the original saltimbocca alla romana you will need thinly sliced veal, because the cooking will be quite fast. If the slices are very large, I suggest you to cut them in half, to prevent them from curling in cooking. Arrange on a cutting board or plate and salt lightly.
Overlap a slice of prosciutto and a fairly large sage leaf (if they are too small, use two sage leaves for every saltimbocca). Fix all the ingredients with a toothpick and proceed in the same way for every slice of meat.
Pour a little flour into a plate and flour the saltimbocca one at a time on both sides. Shake off lightly the excess and set aside.
Add the oil and butter in a large non-stick pan and let it heat up well. Once heated, put the saltimbocca alla romana in the pan on the meat side, without overlapping them.
Let them brown over medium heat for a minute or two, then turn them and let them cook on the other side for a few seconds. Salt them lightly and turn them again, so that prosciutto and sage are no longer in contact with the pan.
Raise the heat and reduce with white wine. Let it evaporate for a few seconds, then lower the heat (it should be medium) and cook the saltimbocca for about 5 minutes, sprinkling them with the cooking sauce using a spoon.
When the sauce is thickened, turn off the heat (11) and serve the original saltimbocca alla romana immediately.
The video recipe of the original saltimbocca alla romana is available on YouTube. Follow me on my channel!
How to store the original saltimbocca alla romana
The original saltimbocca alla romana must be served freshly cooked, but you can store them in the fridge for a couple of days if there is any leftovers. Just warm them up briefly in the microwave before serving.
Tips and variations
The classic italian saltimbocca alla romana is a quick and easy recipe, a perfect solution when you don’t know what to eat for dinner. Nevertheless, it could hide a small pitfall: the cooking. In fact, if you overcook the meat, it becomes tough and unappetizing.
First of all, get a large pan, that can comfortably hold all the meat. If you do not have it, you can solve the problem by dividing the cooking in two phases: brown the saltimbocca in oil and butter a little at a time, to not overcrowd the pan. Keep them warm after removing from the pan. Then put again all the meat in the pan – even overlapped if you can’t do otherwise – raise the heat to maximum and reduce with white wine, sprinkling all the slices with the sauce untile cooked.
In the traditional saltimbocca flour is essential to get a thick and creamy sauce: if you prefer you can avoide it, because the flavour will not be affected.
You can also use slices of chicken, pork or turkey instead of veal: it might not be the original saltimbocca alla romana recipe, but you will still have a quick and tasty meal.
Translation by Giacomo Meucci